X-Kira's recent claims seem to be hinting at Rose for Season 4

We're coming close to the end of the year, which means we'll likely be learning what's next for Street Fighter 5 fairly soon. With Capcom Cup 2018 taking place on December 14th - 16th, fans are expecting the next big reveal at this year's Capcom Pro Tour finale, and there have been some rumblings of what might be on the horizon.

Prominent data-miner X-Kira recently shared hints at what could potentially be two of the characters set to join Street Fighter 5 Season 4. The cryptic tweet made mention of two "queens," one to be released first and the other coming last in the line up of DLC characters released next year.

"The Queen who all expect to be the first will be the last and the least expected will be the first," X-Kira wrote. "Double Queen."

A handful of female Street Fighter characters could fit this bill, but one of the strongest candidates to take one of the "queen" slots is Street Fighter Alpha series alum Rose. Not only is Rose Menat's master in Street Fighter 5, but she has also appeared in a few scenes of her apprentice's story mode — though she did not have any lines of dialogue.

Another hint from X-Kira that seems to point to Rose is one that makes mention of a new "tarot card" move that is supposedly set to be added to Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition. "Tarot card will be one of the new moves," X-Kira said on Twitter.

Traditionally, Rose has a tie to tarot cards due to being a fortune teller. However, there was actually an instance back in the day where Rose used a tarot card as an attack against M. Bison.

Click image for animated version

In Street Fighter Alpha 3 Rose could be seen angrily tossing a powered up tarot card at M. Bison. This scene played out in her Arcade Mode run, during the intro for the boss fight against Bison.

Various official artworks from Street Fighter titles over its 30 years of existence have portrayed Rose holding tarot cards, though she's never actually had an attack that utilizes them in any main Street Fighter game. Even in Alpha 3, the tarot card was only part of the fight's opening cinematic.

Using tarot cards in battle would certainly be a fresh idea for Rose, and it would allow Capcom to add some new flavor to the legacy character. The tarot card idea holds even more weight when you consider that Menat already uses her crystal ball and orbs as a main part of her fighting style.

Back in the Street Fighter 4 series, Rose's Ultra 2 saw her summon two energy orbs that spun around her and had a similar concept to both of Menat's V-Triggers in Street Fighter 5. One might expect Capcom to pull that type of attack over to Street Fighter 5 for Rose but with it being in-game already for Menat it's possible that the tarot cards could be her big focus instead.

Naturally, we won't know if Rose will actually be coming to Street Fighter 5 in Season 4, or if there will even be a Season 4 to begin with — though it is likely that another season is coming in 2019.

Do you think Rose will be joining the playable Street Fighter 5 roster next year? Let us know in the comments below.